News
Presidential Commission of Inquiry into Disappearances final report by Aug.15
View(s):The Government appointed Commission that probed the disappearances of persons, is to hand over its final report to President Maithripala Sirisena by August 15, ahead of the September session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.
Commission Chairman Maxwell Paranagama told the Sunday Times that they are currently finalising the report with two additional commissioners to be appointed to the Commission, to expedite the report.
“The Presidential Secretariat has approved the appointment of two additional Commissioners to expedite the hearings. At present the three Commissioners hear around 150 complaints for a day. The final report will include the Commission’s findings till end July,” he said.
Approximately 2,300 complaints of disappearances have been heard by the Commission during their sittings in the North and East, while 3,500 complaints remain to be heard. Mr Paranagama said with regard to the Commission’s second mandate on alleged human rights violations and abuses, the Commission has established a special investigation team for further investigations where the security forces are involved.
“In some of the cases at the sittings, members of the security forces are being named, where we referred to this team to further investigate the complaints for legal action,” he said. The Special Investigation Team has already started its investigations into the complaints that are related to the security forces. Major General Jagath Dias and Major General Kamal Gunaratne who served during the final days of the war, have made submissions to the team already.
This week the Commissioners will decide on the location to hear complaints at their next sittings. The Commission, appointed in August 2013, on the recommendation of the Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), was mandated to investigate disappearances from June 10, 1990 to May 19,2009 in the north and east.